[Senate Hearing 117-184]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-184

                    NOMINATIONS OF JENNIFER ABRUZZO
                            AND SEEMA NANDA

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                                 OF THE

                    COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
                          LABOR, AND PENSIONS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                                   ON

 EXAMINING THE NOMINATIONS OF JENNIFER ANN ABRUZZO, OF NEW YORK, TO BE 
    GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, WHO WAS 
   INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MURRAY, AND SEEMA NANDA, OF VIRGINIA, TO BE 
 SOLICITOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, WHO WAS INTRODUCED BY SENATOR 
                                 KAINE
                               __________

                             APRIL 29, 2021
                               __________

 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions
                                
                                
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        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                              ___________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                    
46-764 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2022        
        


          COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

                    PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chair
BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont          RICHARD BURR, North Carolina, 
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania       Ranking Member
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin             RAND PAUL, M.D., Kentucky
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut   SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
TIM KAINE, Virginia                  BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TINA SMITH, Minnesota                MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico            TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado          MITT ROMNEY, Utah
                                     TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
                                     JERRY MORAN, Kansas

                     Evan T. Schatz, Staff Director
               David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
                  John Righter, Deputy Staff Director


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                               STATEMENTS

                        THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021

                                                                   Page

                           Committee Members

Murray, Hon. Patty, Chair, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
  and Pensions, Opening statement................................     1
Burr, Hon. Richard, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State 
  of North Carolina, Opening statement...........................     3

                               Witnesses

Abruzzon, Jennifer, to serve as General Counsel of the National 
  Labor Relations Board, Washington, DC..........................     7
    Prepared statement...........................................     9
Nanda, Seema, to serve as Solicitor for the Department of Labor, 
  Arlington, VA..................................................    10
    Prepared statement...........................................    12

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.
Murray, Hon. Patty:
    Letters of Support for the Jennifer Abruzzo Nomination.......    30
    Letters of Support for the Seema Nanda Nomination............    34

 
                    NOMINATIONS OF JENNIFER ABRUZZO
                           AND SEEMA NANDA

                              ----------                              


                        Thursday, April 29, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
       Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in 
room 106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Patty Murray, 
Chair of the Committee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Murray [presiding], Kaine, Hassan, Smith, 
Rosen, Lujan, Hickenlooper, Burr, Cassidy, Braun, Marshall, and 
Moran.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY

    The Chair. Good morning. The Senate Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions Committee will come to order. Today we are 
holding a hearing on the nominations of Jennifer Abruzzo to 
serve as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board 
and Seema Nanda to serve as Solicitor for the Department of 
Labor. Ranking Member Burr and I will each have an opening 
statement.
    I will introduce Ms. Abruzzo and Senator Kaine will 
introduce Ms. Nanda. After the witnesses give their testimony, 
Senators will each have five minutes for a round of questions. 
I will stay for a second-round if Senators have any remaining 
questions. And again, before we begin, I will walk through the 
COVID-19 safety protocols that are in place. We will follow the 
advice of the Attending Physician and the Sergeant-at-Arms in 
conducting this hearing. We are grateful to all of our Clerks 
and everyone who has worked hard to get this set up and help 
everyone stay safe and healthy.
    Committee Members are seated at least six feet apart. Some 
Senators are participating by video conference. And while we 
are unable to have the hearing fully open to the public or 
media for in-person attendance, live video is available on our 
Committee website at help.senate.gov. And if you are in need of 
accommodations, including closed captioning, you can reach out 
to the Committee or the Office of Congressional Accessibility 
Services. We received Ms. Abruzzo's formal nomination on 
February 22nd, her office of Government Ethics paperwork, 
including your public financial disclosures and ethics 
agreement, on February 24th, and her Committee paperwork on 
March 8th.
    We received Ms. Nanda's formal nomination on April 12th and 
her Office of Government Ethics Paperwork and Committee 
paperwork on April 19th. Ms. Abruzzo, Ms. Nanda, thank you both 
for joining us here today. This pandemic has upended workers' 
lives and created the most unequal economic crisis in recent 
history. It is painfully clear our economy is working great for 
those at the very top, but not for workers who keep our country 
running or their families and communities. Which is why it is 
so important that we have strong leaders at the National Labor 
Relations Board and the Department of Labor like Ms. Abruzzo 
and Ms. Nanda. Since its founding in 1935, the NLRB has fought 
to protect working families who are the backbone of our 
economy. When workers stand together to form a union, when they 
are fired or unfairly punished because they want to join or 
form a union, when companies refuse to negotiate fairly with 
unions fighting for higher wages or safe working conditions, 
better benefits like pensions, paid family and medical leave, 
or quality affordable childcare, the NLRB makes sure that union 
elections are fair and workers voices are heard. It safeguards 
the workers' rights that have helped build our country's middle 
class, and that can help us rebuild our Nation stronger and 
fairer in the wake of this crisis. That should be a bipartisan 
goal. But the last 15 years have been characterized by an 
unprecedented Republican obstruction of our NLRB nominees.
    In recent years, the previous President's failure to 
nominate Democratic Board members and the Republican led 
Senate's decision not to advance nominees has now left the 
Board with an empty Democratic seat for nearly 3 years and 
without a single Democratic member from late 2019 until mid 
2020. Let's be clear, though, the issue wasn't simply 
Republicans refusing to advance qualified nominees. It is that 
they tip the scales of justice against workers and toward big 
corporations.
    Fortunately, we now have a new President, a new Senate, and 
new nominees to fight on behalf of workers. Ms. Abruzzo and Ms. 
Nanda both have long records as champions of workers and 
defenders of workers' rights. Both are familiar with the tasks 
ahead in the organizations they would help run. Ms. Abruzzo 
spent nearly 23 years at the NLRB, including her time serving 
as Acting General Counsel, the role she is nominated to fill 
now. Ms. Nanda has served in the Department of Labor previously 
as Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Solicitor of Labor, and Chief 
of Staff. Both have taken on major corporations to protect 
workers from unfair treatment.
    Ms. Abruzzo has won victories against companies for 
attempting to undermine workers' rights to organize and call 
for better wages. Ms. Nanda has fought to defend immigrant 
workers from discrimination and held employers accountable for 
unfair hiring practices. In short, they are both highly 
qualified for their positions and deeply committed to working 
families. I urge my colleagues to show families they are 
listening and stand with workers by voting to confirm these 
highly qualified nominees. Of course, confirming these nominees 
is only the latest step we must take to build a stronger, 
fairer economy for working families.
    We need to also raise the minimum wage and ensure equal pay 
and workplace harassment and discrimination, and root out the 
systemic racism, sexism, ableism, and bigotry that unfairly 
holds back too many workers, ensure every worker has paid 
family, medical and sick leave, quality, affordable childcare, 
and a secure retirement plan, and protect every worker's right 
to join a union.
    I will keep pressing to do just that. Finally, I seek 
unanimous consent to put in the record 22 letters in support of 
Ms. Abruzzo's nomination and two letters in support of Ms. 
Nanda's nomination. So, ordered.

    [The following information can be found on page 30 in 
Additional Material]

    The Chair. I will now recognize Ranking Member Burr for his 
opening remarks.

                   OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BURR

    Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for 
scheduling this hearing to consider the nominations of Jennifer 
Abruzzo for General Counsel of the NLRB and Seema Nanda for the 
Solicitor of Labor. Welcome to both of you. Ms. Abruzzo, I 
enjoyed our talk in my office several weeks ago. President 
Biden called for bipartisanship and unity in his inaugural 
address stating, ``This is our historic moment of crisis and 
challenge, and unity is the path forward.'' Yet while he read 
that statement, his staff was engaged in an unprecedented 
firing of Government officials. That is not good for the 
Senate, it is not good for our country, and ultimately this 
behavior isn't good for our Nation's workers.
    One of those firings there in the President's call for 
unity was the removal of the NLRB General Counsel, Peter Robb. 
This was the first time, the first time a newly elected 
President has ever fired the NLRB General Counsel, a Senate 
confirmed position that under the National Labor Relations Act 
serves a four-year term. Congress set a specific term for the 
General Counsel to provide integrity and independence in the 
position. You see, we need both independence and integrity in 
the General Counsel's Office, which we had in Peter Robb until 
he was abruptly fired by the White House staff while the 
President was still on the Capitol balcony calling for unity.
    Just as Congress prizes the independence of the FBI 
Director and the Senate term for that position, we also prize 
the General Counsel at NLRB. And just as we view the abrupt 
firing of an FBI Director shocking and unprecedented, we should 
also view the firing of the General Counsel with a similar 
concern. President Biden's actions not only harm the 
independence of the Board and the General Counsel, but this is 
an aggressive and unnecessary partisan escalation.
    For example, President Trump left President Obama's General 
Counsel, Richard Griffin, in office for 10 months until his 
term expired. President Obama left George W. Bush's General 
Counsel, Ronald Leesburg, in office for 18 months until he left 
on his own accord in June 2010, two months before his term 
expired. So, while President Biden was reading pretty words 
about unity, his politically motivated staff escalated the 
unending partisan war, and as a result, workers and business 
will suffer. Plain and simple. I would say it ain't so, Joe, 
but unfortunately we have the nomination before us, so I know 
it is. Ms. Abruzzo says she wasn't involved in the firing, but 
that is frankly a little hard to believe because she was 
heavily involved in the agency's review team for Labor which 
covered the NLRB. I can't imagine this firing was a surprise to 
you.
    Ms. Abruzzo's fingerprints are on many of NLRB's most 
radical decisions, and some of the Administration's most 
partisan post-election labor moves. If confirmed, she will come 
in with a dark cloud, quite frankly, over her head. Turning to 
Seema Nanda. The Solicitor of the Department of Labor should be 
someone with balance, without ideological agendas. But Ms. 
Nanda is a highly partisan individual. While she has Department 
experience, it was under Tom Perez who was himself a radical 
partisan. Ms. Nanda followed Mr. Perez to the DNC, where she 
was his top executive in charge of fundraising for the 
Democratic Party. I find it hard to believe that the American 
people want labor laws enforced by someone whose job it was to 
raise money for the Democratic Party. She has used her time at 
the DNC to make a series of inflammatory, aggressive, and 
narrow-minded points and retweets about and against 
Republicans, some on this Committee. She has accused our own 
Committee Member, Susan Collins, of not caring about survivors 
of sexual assault, which is quite frankly offensively false.
    Susan Collins stands head and shoulders above those slurs 
against her. Ms. Nanda has accused Republican Senators of 
wanting to, ``break the Government when it was Democrats--break 
the Government,'' when it was Democrats who ruthlessly 
filibustered much needed aid for COVID-19 last year. The list 
goes on and I won't abuse this Committee by repeating her 
tweets here. I am sure she will offer some form of apology, but 
I suspect she simply--she is simply sorry she got caught. But 
such rhetoric is in sharp contrast to the bipartisanship the 
President promised as late as last night, and this Committee 
has shown time and time again. Ms. Nanda seems to view 
employers not as job creators, but as cartoonish evildoers, set 
upon disadvantaging and harming the American worker.
    I fear her confirmation would lead to a partisan assault 
against employers, the great majority of whom are eager to 
comply with their regulatory obligations, and quite frankly, 
keep their workers safe. Ms. Nanda's zero-sum mentality of 
American labor management relations that in order for the 
worker to gain, the employer must suffer, is an out of the 
mainstream view that has no place in American Government. I 
welcome this hearing as an opportunity to understand exactly 
what this Administration and the majority intends to attempt to 
impose on business and job creators in the coming months and 
years.
    Hopefully instead, they will set aside their partisanship 
and ideological agendas and instead work together to protect 
workers, create jobs, grow our economy, and not Government. 
Since the foundation of the American Federation of Labor, 
American Union members, the actual workers, not their union 
bosses, have engaged in a struggle against radical socialists 
who wish to seize control and repurpose the labor movement away 
from prioritizing the economy and creating jobs to pushing 
socialism where Government reigns. The AFL founder, Samuel 
Gompers, only lost one internal election to the socialist 
faction. Gompers knew our country needed to thrive and needed 
thriving businesses for his members to bargain worth and work 
for. He had no time for socialists who wanted to hijack the 
labor movement as a means of destroying the very idea of a free 
market economy.
    The battle for the soul of labor continues today. The labor 
of American workers drives our free market economy, and their 
demand for good jobs and fair wages helps our competitive 
spirit thrive. But some unions have instead become partisan 
masquerading as work advocates. Workers should be protected. 
They should have their rights to organize or not to organize, 
and that should be respected under the law. Bipartisan 
legislation like the poorly named Pro Act, masquerading as a 
pro-worker bill, is truly a dagger aimed at the heart of 
America's free enterprise system.
    Our two nominees today have fine qualities for their 
previous jobs, Ms. Abruzzo as a union lawyer and Ms. Nanda as a 
Democratic Party activist, but they represent the wrong side of 
the struggle for our soul of the American worker. It is unclear 
to me that they will ever enjoy the confidence of anyone 
outside of the biased, antibusiness bubbles that fester on the 
fringes of the left, further undermining public confidence in 
the independent nature of the positions they are here in hopes 
to hold. I thank the Chair. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you. We will now introduce today's 
witnesses. Jennifer Abruzzo is a proven public servant with 
over two decades of experience fighting for workers. She is 
uniquely qualified for the position of NLRB General Counsel, 
and she has spent the majority of her career at the Board and 
shown herself to be a talented Attorney in each of her roles 
there. Over her 23 years with the NLRB, Ms. Abruzzo has served 
as a Field Attorney, a Supervisory Field Attorney, Deputy 
Regional Attorney, Deputy General Counsel, and as Acting 
General Counsel, the role which she is now nominated to fill.
    In the course of that work, she has established herself 
time and time again as a dedicated public servant by protecting 
employees from unfair treatment and defending workers' rights 
to organize, form or join a union, and fight for better working 
conditions, benefits, and wages. She has worked closely with 
past NLRB General Counsels, both Democratic and Republican, to 
help coordinate the Board's national outreach program and 
oversee operations in regional offices worldwide, and in her 
capacity as Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, 
she served as a key adviser and decision maker on all legal, 
operational, administrative, and financial matters. Ms. Abruzzo 
left the NLRB in 2017 but hasn't left the fight for workers' 
rights. She is currently Special Counsel for Strategic 
Initiatives at the Communication Workers of America, where she 
works to train other labor attorneys, assist with litigation 
and legislative initiatives, and serve as the union's 
designated point person on all NLRB issues.
    Ms. Abruzzo's resume leaves no doubt she is a capable 
leader, a champion for working families, and an excellent 
choice to serve as NLRB General Counsel. She will work 
vigorously to enforce the National Labor Relations Act, which 
is designed to protect our Nation's workers against unfair 
labor practices and guarantees the right to organize and seek 
better wages and safer working conditions through collective 
bargaining. Making sure workers can freely exercise these 
rights is important to making sure that we can rebuild a 
stronger, fairer economy. And of course, in addition to being 
an accomplished leader, Ms. Abruzzo and her husband Bill are 
also proud parents to their son, Adam, who is a pulmonary 
critical care doctor, and grandparents to two grandsons, Henry 
and Dean.
    It is a pleasure to have Bill and Ms. Abruzzo's mother, 
Sandy, joining us today at this hearing as well. Ms. Abruzzo, 
we are glad you are here with us today. We look forward to 
hearing from you and working with you in the future. And thank 
you. I will now turn it over to Senator Kaine to introduce Ms. 
Nanda.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you, Chair and Ranking Member. I am 
pleased to be here today to introduce to the Committee and 
recommend my Virginia constituent, Seema Nanda, for the 
position of Solicitor at the Department of Labor. And I can't 
resist maybe beginning with a little bit of a response to my 
friend and colleague, Senator Burr. Seema Nanda is a Democrat, 
and she did work at the Democratic National Committee, and she 
is nominated by Democratic President. I served as chair of the 
Democratic National Committee.
    Now, if somebody introduced me and they just focused on 
that, they wouldn't tell you the full story of who Tim Kaine 
is, because I was a missionary, and I was a civil rights 
lawyer, and I was the Managing Director of a private law firm, 
and I was a nonpartisan Mayor, and City Council member, and I 
was a Lieutenant Governor, and Governor. And yes, for two 
years, I was the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee 
before coming to the Senate. So, what I want to do is what Paul 
Harvey used to say on the radio, I want to give you the rest of 
the story.
    Seema Nanda graduated from Boston--Brown University, then 
B.C. Law School. She started her career as an associate in 
private practice doing labor law work for employers. She then 
moved and was honored to accept a position at the National 
Labor Relations Board, where she served as a career Supervising 
Attorney in the Department of Advice for ten years, nine of 
which, nine of those ten years, was under Republican 
administrations and Republican majority leadership of the NLRB.
    She then moved to the U.S. Department of Justice, where she 
started as a Senior Trial Attorney and later became Deputy 
Special Counsel for the Civil Rights Division, Office of the 
Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment 
Practices, and she worked there with employers who were accused 
of discrimination. From 2013 to 2017, she worked with, again at 
the U.S. Department of Labor as the Deputy Chief of Staff, then 
the Deputy Solicitor General, and then eventually the Chief of 
Staff, and she focused on immigration, workforce development, 
and internal management issues within the NLRB.
    Her knowledge of the intricacies of the Department of 
Labor, because of these two significant long stints there under 
both Republican and Democratic leadership, makes her uniquely 
positioned to take on the role of the Department of Labor's top 
attorney. After the Obama administration, Seema transitioned to 
the nonprofit Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 
where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief 
Operating Officer overseeing the organization's day to day 
operations. And then in 2018, she was tapped to serve as the 
CEO of the Democratic National Committee. I tapped somebody to 
be the CEO of the Democratic National Committee, and I don't--I 
wasn't there when Seema was there, but I would say the CEO of 
the DNC when I was there is an awful lot of internal personnel, 
did an awful lot of convention planning, did an awful lot of 
handholding of state party chairs and responding to requests 
from Democratic officeholders who called the DNC for advice. It 
was not primarily a fundraising job.
    Seema currently serves as Harvard Law--at Harvard Law 
School's Labor and Work Life Program. So, she has been in 
private practice and she has been in public service under both 
Democratic and Republican administrations, both in the 
Department of Justice and in the NLRB. She is nominated for the 
Solicitor position. She has already served as the Deputy 
Solicitor. Her background shows a clear commitment to improving 
employment practices in the country and working hand in hand 
both with business leaders and workers. And I am confident that 
if confirmed, she will carry out her important responsibilities 
in a fair, equitable, and energetic manner. And that is why I 
am very happy to be here and to introduce her.
    The Chair. Thank you, Senator Kaine. Ms. Nanda, glad to 
have you with us today, and I want to welcome your husband, 
Vincent, and your son Leonardo. And I know your son Roman is 
watching today's hearing as well I understand. With that, Ms. 
Abruzzo, we will begin with your testimony.

 STATEMENT OF JENNIFER ABRUZZO TO SERVE AS GENERAL COUNSEL OF 
       THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, WASHINGTON, DC

    Ms. Abruzzo. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members 
of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I am 
honored to appear before you as the nominee for General Counsel 
of the National Labor Relations Board and grateful for the time 
that you took meeting with me. I would be remiss if I did not 
thank my family for all their love, support, and encouragement 
throughout the years. My husband Bill and my mom Sandy, both of 
whom are with me today, my dad, George Burgess, my sister 
Courtney, and brothers Chris and Matt, my second mother, Mary 
Damiani, who recently passed away.
    Last but certainly not least, my son, Adam Schertz, who is 
a pulmonary critical care doctor at Wake Forest Baptist 
Hospital, and his talented wife, Rena, who bestowed upon me two 
of life's greatest gifts, my grandsons, Henry and Dean. I also 
wish to express my gratitude to President Biden and Vice 
President Harris for entrusting me with this nomination. If I 
am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will work tirelessly to 
protect the rights of workers to freely associate and act 
collectively to improve their wages and working conditions if 
they so choose.
    I will promote productive relationships so that businesses 
can flourish, just as was contemplated when the National Labor 
Relations Act was enacted during the Great Depression. Strong 
enforcement of the statute helps level the playing field and 
build a better economy for workers, families, communities, and 
our great country. I know firsthand the difference effectuating 
the mission of the NLRB can make in the lives of so many. I 
grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York, as 
the oldest child of four. Both of my parents, an electrical 
engineer at a utility company and an X-ray technician at a 
hospital, were union members who instilled in me a tremendous 
work ethic and a belief that there is strength in numbers when 
trying to garner decent wages, safe and productive workplaces, 
better health and retirement benefits, and dignity and respect.
    I spent most of my professional career about 23 years as a 
career public servant at the National Labor Relations Board, 
working in various capacities in the field and headquarters, 
culminating with my service as Acting General Counsel and 
Deputy General Counsel. During that time, I partnered with 
colleagues at other agencies to educate workers, labor 
organizations, and businesses about statutory rights and to 
promote better enforcement of labor and employment laws and 
help prevent exploitation of vulnerable workers. And on a daily 
basis, I collaborated with talented Board agents of all ages, 
backgrounds, and political parties.
    I can unequivocally attest to the fact that the NLRB is 
filled with dedicated public servants who are committed to 
enforcing the primary labor law in this country. I am a direct 
beneficiary of my parent's union jobs and understand the power 
of the right to organize and collectively bargain. Workers are 
able to bring about opportunities to change their lives by 
exercising this right. I was fortunate enough to see this 
firsthand while working at the NLRB. One matter, which has 
stayed with me for over 15 years, occurred in Miami. I was the 
attorney of record on a case where a few employees were fired 
during an organizing drive and other employees protested in 
response, causing many of them to be threatened, retaliated 
against, and permanently replaced.
    The courtroom, where I was seeking an injunction to force 
the employer to reinstate the workers and to cease engaging in 
these acts was packed. After my long oral argument, the judge 
advised he would issue a decision within a few days. So, I 
packed up, left the courtroom, and went to the elevator banks 
for the trip down to the lobby. But I couldn't even get on the 
elevator as I was surrounded by workers who hugged me, patted 
me on the back or shook my hand. Many of them were not English 
speakers and could not follow much of what I said during the 
presentation, but they thanked me anyway. Why? Because I 
defended them and their rights under the NLRB that gave them a 
voice and power.
    If confirmed as General Counsel, I will dedicate myself to 
enforcing the statute to the fullest degree possible and will 
lead by promoting a greater understanding for an interest in 
issues facing workers, embracing more productive labor 
management partnerships, engaging with workers' advocates, 
employers, and other stakeholders, collaborating with 
colleagues throughout the Government, and enabling all of the 
talented Board agents at the NLRB to effectively enforce the 
statutory rights of workers in a neutral manner by giving full 
opportunity for employers and unions to have their positions 
heard.
    My past three years at Communications Workers of America 
have deepened my belief that strong enforcement of the NLRB is 
crucial for workers and their advocates to advance improvements 
in workplace conditions, particularly during these challenging 
times. Too many workers have had to choose between their safety 
and their livelihood. Now, more than ever, we must ensure that 
working families who have built this great country are 
empowered and enjoy a better life, a life where workplace 
wages, conditions, and benefits continue to improve, where 
work, life balance is sustainable, where diversity is embraced, 
and all are treated with dignity and respect, and their 
workplace protection laws are effectively enforced.
    Committed people acting together can make a difference, and 
I commit to you that if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, 
I will do all that I can to build a better future for our 
workers, our businesses, our communities, and our Nation. Thank 
you, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Abruzzo follows:]
                 prepared statement of jennifer abruzzo
    Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee, 
thank you for inviting me here today. I am honored to appear before you 
as the nominee for General Counsel of the National Labor Relations 
Board (NLRB) and grateful for the time that you took meeting with me.

    I would be remiss if I did not thank my family for all their love, 
support and encouragement throughout the years--my husband Bill, my 
parents George and Sandy Burgess, my sister Courtney and brothers Chris 
and Matt, my second mother Mary Damiani, who recently passed away, and 
last, but certainly not least, my son Adam Schertz, who is a pulmonary 
critical care doctor at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, and his talented 
wife Brenna, who bestowed upon me two of life's greatest gifts--my 
grandsons Henry and Dean.

    I also wish to express my gratitude to President Biden and Vice 
President Harris for entrusting me with this nomination. If confirmed, 
I will work tirelessly to protect the rights of workers to freely 
associate and act collectively to improve their wages and working 
conditions if they so choose. And, I will promote productive 
relationships so that businesses can flourish. Just as was contemplated 
when the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or statute) was enacted 
during the Great Depression, strong enforcement of the statute helps 
level the playing field and build a better economy for workers, 
families, communities, and our great country.

    I know first hand the difference effectuating the mission of the 
NLRB can make in the lives of so many. I grew up in a working class 
neighborhood in Queens, New York as the oldest child of four. Both of 
my parents, an electrical engineer at a utility company and a X-ray 
technician at a hospital, were union members, who instilled in me a 
tremendous work ethic and a belief that there is strength in numbers 
when trying to garner decent wages, safe and productive workplaces, 
better health and retirement benefits, and dignity and respect.

    I spent most of my professional career--about 23 years--as a career 
public servant at the NLRB working in various capacities in the field 
and headquarters, culminating with my service as Acting General Counsel 
and Deputy General Counsel. During that time, I partnered with 
colleagues at other agencies to educate workers, labor organizations 
and businesses about statutory rights and to promote better enforcement 
of labor and employment laws and help prevent exploitation of 
vulnerable workers. And, on a daily basis, I collaborated with board 
agents of all ages, backgrounds and political parties. I can 
unequivocally attest to the fact that the NLRB is filled with dedicated 
public servants who are committed to enforcing the primary labor law in 
this country.

    I am a direct beneficiary of my parents' union jobs and understand 
the power of the right to organize and collectively bargain. Workers 
are able to bring about opportunities to change their lives by 
exercising this right. I was fortunate enough to see this first hand 
while working at the NLRB. One matter, which has stayed with me for 
over 15 years, occurred in Miami. I was the attorney of record on a 
case where a few employees were fired during an organizing drive and 
other employees protested in response causing many of them to be 
threatened, retaliated against, and permanently replaced. The courtroom 
where I was seeking an injunction to force the employer to reinstate 
the workers and to cease engaging in these acts was packed. After my 
long oral argument, the judge advised that he would issue a decision 
within a few days. So, I packed up, left the courtroom and went to the 
elevator banks for the trip down to the lobby. But I couldn't even get 
on the elevator as I was surrounded by workers who hugged me, patted me 
on the back or shook my hand. Many of them were not English speakers 
and could not follow much of what I said during my presentation, but 
they thanked me anyway--why-because I defended them and their rights 
under the NLRA--that gave them a voice and power.

    If confirmed as General Counsel, I will dedicate myself to 
enforcing the statute to the fullest degree possible and will lead by: 
promoting a greater understanding for and interest in issues facing 
workers; embracing more productive labor-management partnerships; 
engaging with workers, advocates, employers and other stakeholders; 
collaborating with colleagues throughout the government; and enabling 
all board agents to effectively enforce statutory rights in a neutral 
manner by giving full opportunity for employers and unions to have 
their positions heard.

    My past three years at Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO 
have deepened my belief that strong enforcement of the NLRA is crucial 
for workers and their advocates to advance improvements in workplace 
conditions, particularly during these challenging times. Too many 
workers have had to choose between their safety and their livelihood. 
Now more than ever, we must ensure that working families, who have 
built this great country, are empowered and enjoy a better life--a life 
where workplace wages, conditions and benefits continue to improve, 
where work-life balance is sustainable, where diversity is embraced and 
all are treated with dignity and respect, and where workplace 
protection laws are effectively enforced.

    Committed people acting together can make a difference. I commit to 
you that, if confirmed, I will do all that I can to build a better 
future for our workers, our businesses, our communities and our Nation.

    Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
                                 ______
                                 
    The Chair. Thank you. We will turn to Ms. Nanda for her 
testimony.

    STATEMENT OF SEEMA NANDA TO SERVE AS SOLICITOR FOR THE 
               DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, ARLINGTON, VA

    Ms. Nanda. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members 
of the Committee, I am honored to appear before you today as 
the nominee for the Solicitor of Labor. Thank you for welcoming 
me here today, and to you and your staff for meeting with me 
over the last several days conversations. I appreciate it very 
much. If confirmed, I look forward to serving the American 
people and helping the Department of Labor to fill its critical 
mission of promoting the welfare of America's workers, job 
seekers, and retirees during these challenging times.
    I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris 
for nominating me to this position and Secretary Walsh for 
recommending me. I also want to thank my family, my husband, 
Vincent Balbo, and my children, Leonardo and Roman, for their 
endless love and support. My high schoolers are missing a 
little bit of remote learning today, and I am glad they are 
able to learn about the Senate's advice and consent function up 
close. I also want to thank my parents. As young children, my 
parents were forced to leave their homes behind during the 
partition of India and Pakistan. They worked hard with dreams, 
like so many other immigrants, to come to the United States for 
freedom and opportunity.
    I am grateful for all that they in this country have 
provided to me and honored to be the first woman of color 
nominated for the position of Solicitor of Labor. I have spent 
the vast majority of my career in public service. I started my 
career in private practice representing management and labor 
and employment matters in Seattle before going to the National 
Labor Relations Board. While at the NLRB, I worked in 
Democratic and Republican administrations, serving under four 
different General Counsels, three Republican, one Democratic. I 
spent nearly 10 years at the NLRB, always seeking to come to 
the right decision, one based on a careful review of case law 
precedent and the specific circumstances of the case. My work 
often involves significant interaction with the General 
Counsel's Office, and I always appreciated these collaborative 
interactions with colleagues, both Republican and Democratic, 
including General Counsels Leonard Paige, Ronald Weisberg, John 
Higgins, and the late Arthur Rosenfeld.
    I left the NLRB to join the now named Office of Employee 
and Immigrant Rights in the Department of Justice's Civil 
Rights Division. I served as a career head of that office, 
helping to revitalize the office's litigation to deepen across 
agency work with ICE and USCIS, and to run an outreach program 
to employers in affected communities. We had a small office 
with limited resources, and I learned the importance of being 
strategic with enforcement and engaging in meaningful employer 
outreach. I had the honor of serving in various roles at the 
U.S. Department of Labor, including as Deputy Solicitor and 
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Department.
    The breadth of work of the DOL, from the roughly 180 laws 
it enforces, the workforce training and unemployment insurance 
programs it administers, to data and research are all critical 
to the well-being of America's workers. I am particularly proud 
of our work on employee engagement, where DOL became the most 
improved Federal agency in the Employee Viewpoint survey two 
years in a row. People are the most valuable asset at the DOL, 
and if confirmed, I plan on listening and working 
collaboratively. In the more than 20 years of my legal career 
in labor, employment, and civil rights work, I have learned 
that most employers want to do the right thing, and clear 
guidance and compliance assistance are critical.
    But at the same time, wrongful termination, wage theft, 
discrimination, and employment retaliation, and denial of 
employment are all devastating to workers, particularly the 
most vulnerable workers. The erosion of labor standards hurts 
all workers and our economy, as well as the majority of 
employers that are complying with the law. I have seen the role 
of Solicitor up close, and I believe that my experiences that 
dwell in Government as well as my years outside of Government 
have prepared me for this role. I understand that as the Chief 
Legal Adviser to the Department, my role as Solicitor will 
sometimes be to tell my supervisors that they can't do things. 
And that is a role I am willing to do, and I have done before. 
In sum, I am humbled by this nomination.
    If confirmed, I would be excited to return to public 
service. I understand the importance of proceeding in a 
bipartisan manner and working with Members of Congress and 
Members of the Committee to find common ground wherever 
possible. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Nanda follows:]
                   prepared statement of seema nanda
    Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee, 
I'm honored to appear before you today as the nominee for the Solicitor 
of Labor. Thank you for welcoming me here today, and for meeting with 
me over the last several days. I've appreciated our conversations very 
much. If confirmed, I look forward to serving the American people, and 
helping the Department of Labor fulfill its critical mission of 
promoting the welfare of American workers, job seekers, and retirees 
during these challenging times for America's workers and families.

    I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for 
nominating me to this position, and Secretary Walsh for recommending 
me. I also want to thank my family, my husband, Vincent Falvo, and my 
children Leonardo and Roman, who are missing some remote high schooling 
to watch today. I am glad they are able to learn about the Senate's 
advice and consent function up close.

    I want to also thank my parents. As young children, my parents were 
forced to leave their homes behind during the partition of India and 
Pakistan. They worked hard in India, with dreams, like so many other 
immigrants, to come to the United States for freedom and opportunity. 
I'm grateful for all that they, and this country, have provided to me, 
and honored to be the first woman of color nominated for the position 
of Solicitor of Labor.

    I have spent the vast majority of my career in public service. I 
started my career in private practice representing management in labor 
and employment matters in Seattle before going to the National Labor 
Relations Board. While at the NLRB, I worked in Democratic and 
Republican Administrations, serving under four different General 
Counsels, three Republican, one Democrat. I spent nearly ten years at 
the NLRB, always seeking to come to the right decision, one based on a 
careful review of case law, precedent, and the specific circumstances 
of the case. My work often involved significant interaction with the 
General Counsel's office. I appreciated these collaborative 
interactions with colleagues, both Republican and Democratic, including 
General Counsels Leonard Page, Ronald Meisburg, John Higgins, the late 
Arthur Rosenfeld.

    I left the NLRB to join the now-named Office of Employee and 
Immigrant Rights at the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. 
I served as the career head of that office, helping to revitalize the 
office's litigation, to deepen our cross-agency work with ICE and 
USCIS, which had related missions, and to run an outreach program to 
employers and affected communities. We were a small office with limited 
resources, and I learned the importance of being strategic with 
enforcement and engaging in employer outreach.

    I had the honor of serving in various roles at the U.S. Department 
of Labor, including as Deputy Solicitor and Chief of Staff of the 
Department. The breadth of work of the DOL--from the roughly 180 laws 
it enforces, the workforce training programs and unemployment insurance 
programs it administers, to data and research--are critical to the 
well-being of America's workers, job seekers, and retirees. I'm 
proudest of our work on employee engagement, where DOL became the most 
improved Federal agency in the Employee Viewpoint Survey two years in a 
row. People are the most valuable asset at the DOL and at the 
Solicitor's office, and if confirmed, I plan on listening and working 
collaboratively.

    In my more than 20 years of my legal career in labor, employment, 
and civil rights work, I have learned that most employers want to do 
the right thing, and clear guidance and compliance assistance are 
critical. But at the same time, wrongful termination, wage theft, 
discrimination in employment, retaliation, or denial of employment, is 
devastating to workers, particularly the most vulnerable workers. The 
erosion of labor standards hurts all workers and our economy, as well 
as the majority of employers that are complying with the law.

    I've seen the role of Solicitor up close, and I believe that my 
experiences at DOL, in government, as well as my years outside of 
government, have prepared me for the role. I understand that as the 
chief legal advisor to the Department, my role as Solicitor will 
sometimes be to tell my superiors that they can't do things--that it's 
not legally defensible. That's something I've done before and am 
prepared to do.

    I believe that decision-making is almost always better when it 
involves consideration of multiple viewpoints. If confirmed, I commit 
to listening and learning from a diversity of perspectives as I work to 
enforce the laws fully and fairly. I also understand the importance of 
working in a bipartisan manner and working with Congress and Members of 
this Committee to find common ground whenever possible.

    I'm truly humbled by this nomination. If confirmed, I would be 
excited to return to public service and to work with the hundreds of 
highly competent career attorneys who are working every day to enforce 
the agency's mission and fairly consider the complex equities at stake 
in making decisions. This collaborative work I have engaged in 
throughout my time in government has been the highlight of my career, 
and I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve again.

    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
                                 ______
                                 
    The Chair. Thank you very much to both of you. We will now 
begin a round of five-minute questions. I ask my colleagues to 
please keep track of your clock and stay within those five 
minutes. I will remind everybody we have a series of votes 
starting at 11:30 a.m., so I will cut people off at five 
minutes.
    The Solicitor plays a crucial role in ensuring the 
Department of Labor fulfills its mission of promoting the 
safety and welfare of all workers and securing their benefits, 
particularly through the vigorous enforcement of the myriad of 
laws that are entrusted to it. So, Ms. Nanda, if you are 
confirmed as Solicitor, how will you ensure the Department is 
most effectively using enforcement to protect workers and their 
rights?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for that question, Chair Murray. The 
Solicitor's Office plays a variety of important roles at the 
Department in enforcing all of the laws, 180 laws. In terms of 
how I would ensure that we have effective enforcement, I would 
certainly want to talk to the people who are at the Department, 
the career attorneys who have been working every day.
    I would want to talk to Secretary Walsh and hear more about 
his priorities. A couple of things that will guide me in any 
sort of enforcement work. I think we need to focus on willful 
violators of the law and as shown by often repeat violators of 
the law. I would certainly want to focus on the most vulnerable 
workers, often people of color, often people who don't have any 
other recourse other than the Labor Department. And I would 
certainly want to focus on retaliation, making sure that people 
feel comfortable coming forward to the Department of Labor and 
participating in those investigations.
    In terms of substantive priorities, again, I would 
certainly want to talk to folks who are there and do a real 
deep dive. But wage theft is a billions dollar problem every 
year. Workers who can't afford it are losing so much. So that 
would be a focus, as well as making sure that we are ensuring 
the health and safety of our workers, particularly right now 
with the challenges we are facing.
    The Chair. Okay, thank you very much. The National Labor 
Relations Act gives workers the right to join a union to 
collectively bargain for fair wages and benefits and safe 
working conditions. The Office of the General Counsel has the 
unique responsibility to enforce those rights, as workers 
cannot take their cases to court and must rely on the NLRB.
    Over the past few decades, we have seen unprecedented 
attacks on workers' rights and a shocking decline in workers 
bargaining power. This has meant that most workers are left 
behind without the ability to advocate collectively for their 
wages and benefits. As billionaires and corporations get 
richer, it is more important than ever that the NLRB stand up 
for workers and their right to organize. Ms. Abruzzo, you spent 
your career, as you talked about, fighting for workers' rights, 
including 23 years at the NLRB. How will your past experience 
inform your approach to the job, if you are confirmed?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you, Chair Murray, and thank you for 
that warm introduction and your leadership on workers' issues 
and women's issues. So, as you mentioned, I spent 23 years 
there, at the NLRB, and took my responsibilities as a neutral 
very seriously. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I 
would love to get back to my NLRB family and vigorously enforce 
the statute and protect the rights of workers to act 
collectively to improve their wages and working conditions if 
they so choose.
    I would, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, promote 
more inter-agency partnerships for better labor and employment 
enforcement of workplace protection laws. And I would certainly 
want to engage more with stakeholders to learn what issues 
there are. I enjoy good working relationships with labor and 
management practitioners, and I would want to foster that. I 
also would want to create a much more robust outreach program 
at the NLRB so that there is a better understanding of our 
rights and responsibilities under the statute.
    Particularly, I would want to engage with vulnerable 
workers and underserved populations as well as small businesses 
and worker advocates, so everyone understands the statutory 
rights. And finally, as Ms. Nanda said, of course, to 
collaborate with the career staff at the agency. They provided 
me with very sage advice when I was Acting General Counsel and 
Deputy General Counsel. And I would certainly want to provide 
them with the resources and tools that they need to ensure that 
the mission is fully effectuated.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. Senator Burr.
    Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, to both of our 
nominees, welcome. Ms. Abruzzo, as part of President Biden's 
transition team, did you have anything to do with the firing of 
Peter Robb?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for that question, Ranking Member 
Burr, and I enjoyed our conversation about our families in 
Winston-Salem. So, you are right, I was asked to volunteer on 
the Department of Labor Agency review team during the 
transition, and I was happy to take on that role and help the 
impending administration. There were many other teams, and I 
was one member of about 25, as the name suggests. We were 
tasked with reviewing the current----
    Senator Burr. The question was very simple. Did you have 
anything to do with the firing of Peter Robb?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Again, I had no involvement with the 
President's decision making with regard to----
    Senator Burr. In my office you told me you did not work on 
anything related to the NLRB during your time on the transition 
team. Is that accurate?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for that, Senator. I believe what I 
said to you was that I was on the team and that I shared the 
concerns of internal and external stakeholders when they 
advised us of their concerns regarding operational management 
under General Counsel Robb's tenure.
    Senator Burr. Well, let me get you to explain an email 
series to me. And this email shows that the White House staff, 
Carina Cortez, put you, among others, including Ms. Nanda, who 
is sitting next to you in the NLRB, Acting General Counsel, 
Peter Ohr, in touch.
    As a matter of fact, the White House, Karina Cortez, wrote 
to Peter, ``just circling back on your request, I found out 
that I cannot share files created during the transition period, 
but I can have all the team that helped create the NLRB 
documents brief you verbally, if that is Okay.'' The response, 
the same day, ``I understand an opportunity to talk to the team 
would be very helpful. I would appreciate you connecting me 
with them.'' Ms. Cortez writes back, ``good morning, Peter. I 
want to introduce Ms. Nanda, Lin Rheinhardt, Jennifer Abruzzo, 
and I believe you might know some of them already. As I 
indicated earlier, the outstanding team put together some very 
helpful NLRB background materials during the transition 
agency's review team process. They are happy to participate in 
a video conference with you and share the learnings from their 
work.'' Peter Ohr responds back, ``thank you for the 
introduction,'' blah, blah, blah. So, you led me to believe 
that you had very little involvement in documents dealing with 
the NLRB.
    This suggests that everything that revolves around the path 
forward for the NLRB was done out of working group that both of 
you were on and that you were asked to come in and share that 
with the Acting General Counsel. And that was as of February 
2nd. So, what was your involvement with NLRB documents?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you, Senator. As I was saying, we were 
part of a team that collaborated after we received information 
and engaged with internal and external stakeholders. During 
that collaborative process, we reviewed critical information 
that we received from stakeholders regarding their concerns 
over General Counsel Robb's operational management that 
included a lapse in appropriated funds and staff reductions and 
decline in labor management and staff morale. And I, along with 
others, felt that those concerns, as well as the stakeholders' 
recommendations, that consideration for the removal of General 
Counsel Robb, be elevated. I believed, as well as some other 
members----
    Senator Burr. You were part of it?
    Ms. Abruzzo [continuing]. Thought that----
    Senator Burr. You made a recommendation that, I am not 
trying to put words in your mouth, but you just said you made a 
recommendation based upon performance of his work that he 
should be replaced. Now let me ask you this. And these are yes 
or no, has any President ever fired an NLRB General Counsel?
    Ms. Abruzzo. As I understand it, no. The last time----
    Senator Burr. Is a statutory term for General Counsel under 
the National Labor Relations Act 4 years?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Yes, that is what the statute says.
    Senator Burr. You think Congress should update the law, so 
the General Counsel's term expires with the President who has 
nominated them?
    Ms. Abruzzo. I can't really speak to what the Congress 
should or shouldn't do. They can change the legislation if they 
so choose.
    Senator Burr. Well--Madam Chair, I realize my time has 
expired. You won't comment on what Congress should do? Congress 
set a four-year term for the General Counsel. Your 
recommendation to the current administration was, even though 
there was time left on their term, you need to fire them. You 
are now here to take that job. I thank the Chair.
    The Chair. Senator Kaine.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member 
Burr. Ms. Nanda, I want to go back to your opening testimony 
and just read for the record a paragraph and then ask you some 
questions about it. ``In my more than 20 years of my legal 
career in labor, employment, civil rights work, I have learned 
that most employers want to do the right thing and clear 
guidance and compliance assistance are critical. But at the 
same time, wrongful termination, wage theft, discrimination and 
employment, retaliation or denial of employment is devastating 
to workers, particularly the most vulnerable workers.
    The erosion of labor standards hurts all workers in our 
economy, as well as the majority of employers that are 
complying with the law.'' I come out of a labor household and 
that my dad owned and ran a very small ironworking shop that 
was ironworker organized. So, he was management, but he had a 
very good relationship with the iron workers that were his 
employees. And my brothers and I and my mom all worked in this 
business and it was five employees in a tough year and eight 
employees in a good year, very, very small.
    My dad was on--was selected, though the business was so 
tiny by the iron workers, to be one of three employer reps on 
the National Pension Fund. There were three employer reps and 
three employee reps because they viewed him as a management guy 
who got at the labor and management should work together. I 
deeply believe in that first point you make in that paragraph 
that most employers want to do the right thing. I deeply 
believe that when employers don't, when they violate national, 
NLRA, other state labor laws, they hurt not only workers, but 
when people, when employers violate the law, they also hurt 
other employers because the employers like my dad, who did the 
right thing, if there are others who are not doing the right 
thing and there is no enforcement, there is no compliance 
against them, it ends up creating an uneven playing field. It 
is the same phenomenon we see in other areas of Government.
    If the IRS doesn't audit tax cheats, then people who are 
doing the right thing and paying their taxes, they get hurt for 
following the rules when others violate them. So, I know there 
can sometimes be an attitude that rigorous enforcement of labor 
laws, for example, are sort of anti-employer. I look at it 
exactly the opposite, since most employers are trying to do the 
right thing. If you don't vigorously enforce against those who 
are violating labor laws, you end up hurting the very people 
who are trying to do it right. Am I looking at this wrong?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you, Senator Kaine. Thank you also for 
your warm introduction of me. I think you have it exactly 
right. I think that poor labor standards hurt the employers, 
vast majority, as I said, doing the right thing all the time.
    One thing I would also note is that resources at Federal 
enforcement agencies are always scarce. And if you don't have 
compliance and education as a major part of your mission, you 
are not going to do what you are really trying to do, because 
your overall goal is to protect workers, so they don't have to 
go to the Department of Labor or their state and local agency 
or the NLRB to have their rights in force, that employers are 
complying with the law because we know it takes so much time 
and energy, and workers are often in the least position to be 
able to afford these things.
    I absolutely agree with you. I think there is interesting 
ways to work productively with employers on helping with those 
initiatives as well. So, I agree with you 100 percent.
    Senator Kaine. Let me just follow-up on this. So, the 
compliance activities that the Solicitor engages in are 
critically important, but also the educational instructional 
activities. It is one thing if you are a massive employer that 
has a big General Counsel's Office, and you have Labor Council 
and things like that. You have some tools to maybe dig into and 
understand what laws are. But many, many employers, the 
backbone of the American economy are small employers. Describe 
work that you have done in your earlier capacities at NLRB in 
the sort of guidance and instruction side, particularly for the 
backbone of the American economy, small employers, to help them 
better understand labor laws so that they can--those that want 
to do the right thing can more easily do so.
    Ms. Nanda. Yes, that is a really great point. I think about 
my time in private practice, and the labor and employment 
scheme is complex, and it is very hard. It can be very 
difficult on small employers. And I think Government agencies 
really working on education and compliance is so important. I 
will talk about one example of my experience at the Civil 
Rights Division. As a very small Office enforcing a Federal 
discrimination law, we thought that it was really important to 
talk to as many employers as possible.
    We formed a partnership with ICE, Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, that was doing the enforcement on the other side 
for employers about not employing undocumented workers to 
actually feed into their compliance programs for small 
employers, large employers, on how they can comply with the 
anti-discrimination provisions at the same time that they are 
ensuring these compliance with ICE rules as well.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you. I am over my time, but I 
appreciate that answer. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you. Senator Cassidy. Senator Cassidy, we 
can't hear you. I am not sure if it is on your end or ours.
    Senator Burr. Give us a second, Bill.
    The Chair. It is on your side, Senator Cassidy. Can you 
unmute yourself?
    Senator Cassidy. I am unmuted.
    Senator Burr. There you go. You are good.
    Senator Cassidy. Good. Thank you. I am good. No one says 
that, Mr. Burr. Thank you. Okay, Ms. Abruzzo, thank you both 
for your desire to serve our country. And although we disagree 
politically, I certainly respect that. I thank you for that. 
But again Ms. Abruzzo, you left your job at the National Labor 
Relations Board to take a job with the Communications Workers 
of America.
    It happens to be a member of the AFL-CIO Labor Federation. 
And during your tenure, you participated in at least one case 
that came before the Board with an unfair labor charge. So, to 
avoid a conflict of interest, would you commit to recuse 
yourself from all issues involving the CWA and, or the AFL-CIO, 
including the CWA district, locals and affiliate local unions, 
etc.? I think where I am going with that.
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for that question, Senator Cassidy. 
I have already been in touch with the agencies, designated 
ethics agency official about potential conflicts of interest 
over particular matters, and I will continue to engage with 
them and be guided by their recommendations, as well as the 
recommendations of the Office of Government Ethics, and 
certainly will adhere to the ethics pledge.
    Senator Cassidy. Okay. Louisiana is a right to work state. 
Some folks on the other side of the aisle want to supersede 
state laws along the lines of right to work. The Pro Act has 
passed the House. Again, would supersede state right to work 
laws. Would you use your position--let me just ask, should a 
state have the right to come up with right to work laws or 
should the Federal Government have the right to supersede?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for that question, Senator. I can 
only enforce the statute that is on the books, that is the 
National Labor Relations Act, and that provides for states to 
enact right to work laws. And so, I will enforce that statute. 
If the Senate passes the Pro Act or some other labor law reform 
legislation that precludes state right to work laws and 
requires fair share agreements for collective bargaining, 
grievance adjustment, and contract administration, then I would 
enforce that statute. But for right now, the NLRB is what is on 
the books, and that is what I plan on enforcing.
    Senator Cassidy. Sounds great. Ms. Nanda, your prior work 
experience as CEO of the DNC and some of the things that I am 
told you said about Republicans on social media, it is 
obviously a very political and partisan record right there. 
Just if you were in my shoes, imagine yourself, it may be a 
terrible dream for you--imagine that you are a Republican. What 
would reassure me that voting to confirm the person with your 
track record on those two regards is a wise decision that you 
would be neutral and not partisan when it seems as if you have 
been intensely partisan in the past?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you, Senator. I appreciate you raising 
this question. I will start by saying that I spent a little 
under two years in a partisan position in my more than 25-year 
career, professional career. I understand that the role of the 
Solicitor of Labor is strictly nonpartisan. And if I have the 
privilege of being confirmed by this Committee, I plan on 
performing that role in a strictly nonpartisan manner, 
enforcing the laws fairly and fully, and listening to all 
stakeholders. To the extent that I have said things that were 
offensive to anyone in regards to a partisan manner, I 
certainly apologize for that. I have worked throughout my 
career to treat----
    Senator Cassidy. But let me ask you Ms. Nanda, do you 
disown it? It is one thing to apologize, it is another to 
disown. And as you know, this Administration, at least its 
rhetoric is about unity. But when someone is nominated who 
seems to harbor animus, that, of course, is concerning to those 
who are the target of the animus, and particularly if the 
person has a position such as this. How would you respond to 
that?
    Ms. Nanda. I think I would say first, I don't think I 
harbor animus toward those I may disagree with, but what I will 
say is over the last four years, I think the rhetoric was at 
times harsh in this country. And I certainly am sorry to the 
extent I was caught up in that. I think if one looks at my 
career and the people I have worked with, the people I may have 
agreed with and disagreed with, and speaks to those people, 
they will see that I am someone who is always listening and 
always willing to bring people together.
    I think I understand the complexities of being in a role 
like the Solicitor, where you do have to weigh the complex 
interests at stake. I have been on every side of the equation. 
I have been an advocate, most of my career has been as a 
Government Attorney, and I have been--done management work. And 
I understand those complexities and I understand this role.
    Senator Cassidy. Thank you. I yield.
    The Chair. Senator Lujan.
    Senator Lujan. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, thank you 
so much for bringing us together today. Ms. Nanda and I 
discussed this with Secretary Walsh as well, and I shared with 
him that I am a proud son of a union ironworker. My late 
father, Ben Lujan. My mom's father was a union carpenter. My 
brother is currently a union IBW electrician. I was born and 
raised in a union family. Similar story to Senator King. I 
think it is important to have strong worker protections.
    My father, he sadly died from lung cancer because of 
exposure on the job, asbestos, other chemicals that take too 
many people's lives too soon. We need to have strong worker 
protections in place. And that is one of the reasons why I do 
support the project. And it is one of the reasons why I have 
concerns with so-called right to work laws, which I would 
describe as right to work for less. On average, workers in 
their states earn $1,500 less than their counterparts.
    I want to do everything I can to help middle class, 
hardworking families do better. Now, one of the questions that 
I have is around Davis Bacon. I am a strong supporter of Davis 
Bacon protections because they provide workers with fair, 
family sustaining wages. And Ms. Nanda, if confirmed, what 
steps would you solicit or take to ensure the robust 
enforcement of Davis Bacon?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you so much for that question, Senator. I 
appreciate the question very much. Davis Bacon has important 
requirements for Federal contractors in terms of ensuring the 
prevailing wage on Federal contracts. I think in terms of, if I 
were fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would want to get a 
good understanding as to the state of enforcement throughout 
the agency. And that would include on what wage an hour is 
doing right now in terms of Davis Bacon enforcement. And you 
have my commitment that, should I be confirmed, that is 
something that I would certainly want to look into very 
carefully.
    Senator Lujan. I appreciate that. Ms. Abruzzo, I understand 
that as of late last month, the NLRB has brought Spanish 
language outreach efforts on its website and social media. What 
are your thoughts on expanding this type of outreach to ensure 
workers that speak different languages understand their rights?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for that question, Senator Lujan, and 
I really enjoyed our conversation that we had, particularly 
regarding the employees with the agency and various Spanish 
speaking consulates. I would say, of course, I fully embrace 
having a very robust outreach program and expanding it much 
further to reach many other workers of vulnerable and 
underserved populations. I would like to see an expansion of 
the employees with consulates in other foreign countries so 
that the businesses, as well as the communities and the workers 
within the communities, all understand the rights and 
obligations under the statute.
    I am a true proponent of as robust an outreach program as 
we can possibly have so that there is a better understanding of 
the rights under the NLRA, particularly as under the current 
NLRA, there is no mandatory requirement of employers to post 
the rights under the NLRA to act collectively to improve wages 
and working conditions if workers so choose.
    Senator Lujan. Most the farm workers are some of our 
Nation's most vital but most overlooked workers. Among so many 
responsibilities, they take our food, they prepare food that we 
eat every day. They are the backbone of our Nation's food 
security. How can we work together to ensure that all workers' 
rights are going to be protected and that we will ensure that 
everyone gets a fair shake?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for raising the issue of farm worker 
protections, Senator. Farm workers are the ones who are out 
there every day preparing our food, particularly over the last 
year, often at great risk to themselves. Farm work is a risky 
business in general. The Department of Labor plays an important 
role in protecting farm workers. OSHA has standards that apply 
to farm workers and wage an hour has specific laws related to 
the specific protection of farm workers in terms of wages, 
transportation, housing, other issues.
    If I am confirmed, as I indicated, I would certainly want 
to get an overall assessment of the state of enforcement and 
understand resources. But those are certainly important things 
that I would want to look into.
    Senator Lujan. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much. I 
yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you.
    Senator Braun.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair. First question is 
for Ms. Nanda. If you are successful, get the position, I know 
you have been vocal on issues like pro-choice and maybe others 
as well. Do you intend to keep that same type of decibel level 
vocalizing on especially the pro-choice issue among any others 
or are you going to confine it to the domain of labor?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you, Senator, for that for that question. 
I think, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as Solicitor 
of Labor, I will have my hands quite full working on issues 
that are pertinent to the Department of Labor. I will say that 
I like President Biden. I do believe that women's reproductive 
health is an integral part of their health care. But I expect 
that my work, if I am confirmed, will be related to issues that 
are of pertinence to the Labor Department.
    Certainly, if anything related to that comes within the 
purview of Labor, I will approach everything with an open mind. 
I will follow the law. I will listen carefully to stakeholders 
on all sides of the issue. And I will judge those issues fairly 
and impartially without bringing any personal views I may have 
into the equation.
    Senator Braun. Thank you. Ms. Abruzzo, I come from the 
world of small business and independent contractors, all the 
flexibility small entities need in basically the paradigm 
currently in place. There is always a tug of war on that 
particular issue. You now have the gig economy and embedded in 
the Pro Act, for instance, would be things that will change 
that current dynamic.
    I can tell you it would be catastrophic for what Democrats, 
President Biden normally are interested in, and that is small 
business. If you don't keep an attentive eye to how that might 
disrupt things. I have noticed over time, large companies seem 
to navigate through these issues much more easily. What it 
would mean for small business in many cases is that they would 
have to shut down or drastically change how they do business.
    Recently coming from it, especially on that issue of 
independent contractors, that is important, and it seems to be 
working well, most--what gives that small business owner 
flexibility without having an undue regulatory burden. I would 
love to hear your comments on that.
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for the question, Senator Braun and 
I enjoyed our conversation on this very topic of small 
businesses. So, what I will say is certainly small businesses 
are the engines of our economy. And in terms of employee status 
versus independent contractor, of course, it is important for 
there to be employee status because employees enjoy the 
protections of workplace protection laws.
    However, I can only enforce the National Labor Relations 
Act and I will apply the broad statutory language. The National 
Labor Relations Act currently does not have the ABC test that 
is in the Pro Act and so should the Pro Act, again, be enacted 
or something similar, I would enforce that. But certainly, I 
will apply the statutory language if I am fortunate enough to 
be confirmed.
    Senator Braun. If you do get confirmed, I think it would be 
important to maybe weigh in if you had an opinion as to whether 
it would be better or not to keep what we have got versus what 
might be in that Act. Thank you so much.
    The Chair. Senator Hassan.
    Senator Hassan. Well, thank you very much, Chair Murray and 
Ranking Member Burr. And to our two nominees, thank you so much 
not only for being here today, but for your willingness to 
serve your country. I want to start with a couple of questions 
to you, Ms. Abruzzo. We have to protect the rights of workers 
to organize and collectively bargain, which is why I joined 
many of my colleagues in support of Chair Murray's bill, the 
Protecting the Rights to Organize after the Pro Act.
    Across the country, right to work legislation has been 
introduced in state legislatures, including my home State of 
New Hampshire. If this type of legislation passes, it will make 
it significantly more difficult for workers to form unions and 
fight for better benefits. Ms. Abruzzo, as General Counsel of 
the National Labor Relations Board, how will you improve and 
protect the rights of workers to organize?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for that question, Senator. So the 
statute was enacted during the Great Depression and it was to 
level the playing field and to inject money into the economy. 
And certainly, I would want to, in this moment in time and 
particular with regard to the COVID crisis, I would want to 
vigorously protect the rights of workers to act collectively, 
to improve their wages and working conditions with or without a 
union. I think that it is extremely important for there to be 
labor management partnerships for businesses and their workers 
and worker advocates to engage on health and safety issues, as 
well as other workplace issues.
    I think that CWA and other labor organizations have been 
very successful in negotiating with employers over successful 
health and safety protocols and plans, PPE, and flexible 
scheduling and leave. And so, I would encourage more labor 
management partnerships in this regard. I think it is critical 
for the well-being of workers in this country, and I think it 
will enure to the benefit of businesses and the economy to have 
healthy and safe workplaces and enable workers to be more 
productive, which will enure to spur the economy and allow 
businesses to have more outputs.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you. Following up on that, the COVID-
19 pandemic has certainly imposed a significant burden on 
workers and highlighted widespread inequities present 
workplaces across the country. Compounding the issue, the 
pandemic has made it more difficult for workers to actually 
gather and discuss challenges that they face in the workplace. 
So that informal kind of sharing of information is much harder 
to do when you are not physically together. So how do you think 
the pandemic has affected the right of workers to collectively 
bargain and join with other workers to organize? And how do you 
think the General Counsel's Office can support these workers? 
And if you can be brief, that would be helpful.
    Ms. Abruzzo. Sure. So certainly I think the pandemic has 
caused challenges for everybody. But workers have the right to 
engage collectively to improve their wages and working 
conditions. And we will use whatever means that they can. And I 
think there has been successes, so I would hope and expect that 
will continue.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you. I want to move on to a couple of 
questions for Ms. Nanda. Something we have to continue to work 
on is how to expand opportunities for workers in recovery from 
substance misuse. In New Hampshire we have continued to grapple 
with the substance use disorder epidemic, often leaving 
individuals in recovery struggling to find their way back into 
the workforce. Ms. Nanda, how can the Department of Labor work 
to ensure that workers in recovery have the support that they 
need to reenter the workforce and stay in recovery?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for your question, Senator. The opioid 
epidemic has been, it probably was the biggest national health 
crisis before this past year. And I think the Department of 
Labor can play a very important role. I believe that the prior 
administration did do some work in this area with workforce 
training. And I think that there is more that can be done with 
alignments with the workforce system. There is a lot of 
opportunity with the reauthorization, hopefully this year, of 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to make sure that 
the workforce system is thinking about particular strategies. 
And if I am confirmed, I look forward to, within the 
Solicitor's Office purview, thinking about that issue more.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you. I think it is just also really 
important that we work to make sure that people who are in 
recovery aren't stigmatized because that is a critical barrier 
in some cases. I am running out of time, so I will just note 
that I will submit a question for the record.
    One of the things I think the Department of Labor really 
needs to do is collect data on employers who receive waivers 
under Section 14(c) to pay some minimum wage to workers with 
disabilities. And I would look forward to a discussion about 
how we could really collect data and understand who is paying 
sub-minimum wage and why. So, thank you.
    The Chair. Thank you.
    Senator Marshall.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you, Madam Chair. My first question 
for both of you. For many, many people, part of their American 
dream is to own their own business. And a franchise is one 
model that has enabled that. And I think that the franchise 
model is just another example of American exceptionalism. And I 
want to just ask you both about the joint employer standards 
and how you would define it. And I would assume based upon your 
records, you would probably more loosely define what a joint 
employer standard looks like, and what would that impact be on 
the franchises? And I will start with Ms. Nanda first.
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you, Senator, for that question. So, I 
will start by saying that small businesses are so much the 
engine of our economy. People don't often realize that it is 
something in the nature of 50 percent of all workers workforce 
for small businesses. So, they are also important job creators. 
With regards to joint employment and the standard, this is an 
issue that is presently subject to litigation at the Labor 
Department.
    There was a standard--there was a rule, an interpretive 
rule issued by the prior administration that had an adverse 
decision. My understanding is that litigation is presently 
pending in the Circuit Court. So, it is under active 
consideration at the Department. I am not presently in the 
building and I haven't been privy to discussions and deep legal 
analysis in the benefit of conversations with the Secretary and 
career attorneys.
    Senator Marshall. Okay, so you don't know much about it or 
don't have an opinion on it. Ms. Abruzzo, how do you think that 
a more loosely defined joint employer standard is beneficial 
and how would it impact the franchise industry?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you for the question, Senator. Well 
under the NLRA, and there is a language, statutory language 
defining who an employer is, the current NLRB has also 
implemented a rule recently regarding a joint employer that 
defines the joint employer as an entity with substantial, 
direct and immediate control over essential terms and 
conditions of employment.
    If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would ensure 
that the Board agents are applying the statutory language and 
the Board's rule and extend Board law regarding the joint 
employer relationship.
    Senator Marshall. Yes, I guess my question is, if it is 
more loosely applied, how would it impact the franchise 
industry?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you, Senator. I really can't speak in 
hypotheticals. We can't give advisory opinions. I would have to 
review a case that comes before me after a fact intensive 
investigation and apply the appropriate language, the rule, the 
Stanford Law, to the facts of the case.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you. My next question for Ms. 
Nanda. I want to talk a little bit about emergency temporary 
standard. According to OSHA's authorization, there is two 
requirements that must be met for OSHA to promulgate an 
emergency temporary standard. First, that workers are exposed 
to grave danger from exposure to substance or toxic or 
physically harmful.
    Second, that an emergency temporary standard is necessary 
to protect workers from that danger. I think that we all can 
agree that we have got COVID on the run thanks to the Trump 
vaccine that is out there now, that we should be approaching 
herd immunity, that the incidence is going down, that every 
American by now, adult has had the chance to have the vaccine.
    Do you still think that there is a grave danger and that we 
should be applying this emergency temporary standard or not?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for your question, Senator. My 
understanding is that the Department just sent a proposed 
emergency temporary standard rule to OMB. It is what is called 
Rocust. It is not publicly available. I am not at the 
Department and I haven't seen what is in that standard. 
Certainly, we have some half a million Americans who have lost 
their lives and we want to ensure that they are protected, 
including being protected at the workplace. I certainly hope 
you are right that we are through the worst of this, but it is 
difficult for me to comment on the standard because I haven't 
seen it and I am not at the Department yet.
    Senator Marshall. The vaccine is 90--95 percent effective, 
preventing you getting the virus, probably 100 percent 
preventing you from being hospitalized or from dying from it, 
so I don't see that there is any type of grave danger. Wouldn't 
you agree?
    Ms. Nanda. I would say that thinking about what is 
happening in the world right now with variants and having a 
child who is still not vaccinated, I again certainly hope that 
you are right that we are through the worst of this. But it is 
difficult for me to comment on the propriety of an emergency 
temporary standard, not having seen it.
    The Chair. Thank you.
    Senator Hickenlooper.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate 
the opportunity to speak and ask a couple of questions. First, 
Ms. Abruzzo, unlike many labor laws, the National Labor 
Relations Act does not provide for the way that workers can 
take their own cases to court. Instead, workers rely entirely 
on the General Counsel to investigate and prosecute cases on 
their behalf. With a 33 percent decrease in NLRB field staff, 
this is over the last decade, are workers being denied due 
process, and can you describe for us your approach to enforcing 
workers' rights and how you might go about prioritizing these 
cases?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you, Senator, for that question, and I 
appreciated meeting with you actually the morning before the 
mass shooting, so I hope that the Boulder community is healing. 
So, what I will say is I was extremely troubled to learn of the 
significant number of staff reductions, particularly over the 
past few years in the hundreds without backfilling, 
particularly in the field offices where over 90 percent of the 
agency's work is performed.
    I certainly think that the lack of staff and resources, 
particularly in the field, does affect the full and thorough 
enforcement of the statute. As you correctly note, there is no 
private right of action. And so, it is really incumbent upon us 
in the first instance to do a full and thorough quality 
investigation because workers have no recourse to go to the 
courts to seek redress if they feel that their rights under the 
statute have been violated.
    If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would certainly 
want to speak with the career staff about not only personnel 
matters and staffing up, but also regarding financial matters 
and administrative matters. But I would expect that one of the 
first order of business will be to determine what offices need 
to be staffed more appropriately so that they can fully 
effectuate the Congressional mandate.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Great. Thank you very much for that 
answer. Ms. Nanda, on January 21st, President Biden signed an 
Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety that 
directs OSHA to increase enforcement of existing agency 
standards and investigate whether a new COVID-19 standard is 
needed.
    Both workers and businesses are more desperate, as we have 
seen in just today and so many previous days. They are 
desperate for the science-based standards to better protect our 
employees and customers, the future of their business. Most 
business owners follow the law and make the necessary 
investments to create safe workplaces for their employees and 
their customers.
    Should you be confirmed, how can you tell us how you would 
plan to work with OSHA and respond to those rare examples where 
people don't comply with workplace worker safety rules so that 
law abiding business owners aren't disadvantaged?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you for your question, Senator. I think 
what we have seen with what America's workers, particularly the 
workers who are what we call essential workers, First 
Responders, people who produce our food, farm workers, they 
have gone through a lot over the past year plus. So, I think 
enforcement and ensuring their protections. This isn't about 
any health and safety matter. This is really about their lives. 
It is incredibly important.
    If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would want to 
have an understanding of what cases are presently in the 
pipeline and how those standards are being enforced, whether it 
is under an emergency temporary standard or the general duty 
clause, but really making sure that we do have robust 
enforcement so that we are protecting our Nation's workers is 
going to be incredibly important.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Ms. Nanda. And thank you 
both. You are both eminently qualified, and I did enjoy our 
conversation as well, even though it was so ill timed right 
before the shooting. I believe I have got my long question, 
which I will resist because I think I am almost out of time, so 
I will yield the rest of my time to the floor, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. Senator Burr, do you have 
any additional questions?
    Senator Burr. I do, Madam Chair. I will be brief because I 
know we have got a vote coming up. Ms. Nanda, listen, I know 
you had a political job at the DNC. I get it. But you said you 
tweeted that the Republican leader was undermining democracy by 
confirming Article 3 judges. Do you really believe a majority 
leader is undermining democracy doing his job?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you, Ranking Member Burr. No, I don't 
believe that the majority leader is undermining democracy by 
enforcing Article 3 or confirming judges. I don't know the 
exact tweet or quote that you are saying. I would be happy to 
take a look at it, provide any further explanation. But I would 
like to go back to saying that tweets can happen very quickly 
and sometimes they might not be exactly what we would say if we 
had a little bit more deliberative time. But no, I don't 
believe that.
    Senator Burr. Okay, well, you understand the importance of 
this. I mean, we are asking you to fill a role that has statute 
and law that you got to follow and so does the majority leader. 
I also referenced that you made a tweet that said that Senator 
Collins was ambivalent and unsympathetic to allegations of 
sexual assault. Now, was that politics or do you believe 
Senator Collins is ambivalent and unsympathetic of allegations 
of sexual assault?
    Ms. Nanda. Senator, I think what you are referring to is a 
re-tweet I did of a tweet from someone else that was 
immediately following the Justice Kavanaugh decision or her 
decision on how she would vote on that.
    Senator Burr. Did you re-tweet it because you believed it 
to be accurate?
    Ms. Nanda. I will say that I, at the time, felt very 
strongly about the balance of the Supreme Court. I don't have a 
belief that justice--excuse me, Senator Collins doesn't care 
about victims or survivors. I was more retweeting to the extent 
I can recall the exact circumstances of it to express my views 
with regard to the balance of the court.
    Senator Burr. This one doesn't fall in the category of 
political, this falls in the category of personal. It is a 
personal assessment you made of Senator Collins.
    Ms. Nanda. I wouldn't say I was making a personal 
assessment of the Senator. I think I was using the forum to 
express my concern about the balance of the court.
    Senator Burr. You think she probably took it personally?
    Ms. Nanda. As I stated before, I don't know. I don't know 
if she saw it.
    Senator Burr. You said earlier that you felt you had the 
freedom to do some of these things because of the discourse in 
Washington. Now, the discourse in Washington is not done by one 
party and not the other, it is not done by one person and not 
the other. In fact, what you did was you contributed to this 
discourse. Let me ask you this----
    Ms. Nanda. Senator, if I may.
    Senator Burr. Absolutely.
    Ms. Nanda. I don't think I was saying I had the freedom to 
do this because of the discourse. I believe I was--what I was 
intending to say before was I think with the discourse of our 
country, I was caught up in that discourse. And I can commit to 
you, I can't explain every tweet I have ever sent, but I can 
commit to you that moving forward, I will work collaboratively 
if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, with Members of this 
Committee as well as other stakeholders.
    Senator Burr. As Solicitor, will you--you will be required 
not only to determine, in coordination with the Secretary, 
those employees who should be referred for litigation, but with 
advising agencies on protocol procedures, including rulemaking. 
Will you commit to adhering to the procedures of the APA and 
substantively considering comments from all stakeholders, 
employees, and workers alike?
    Ms. Nanda. Absolutely.
    Senator Burr. Okay. Madam Chair, I yield.
    The Chair. Senator Smith.
    Senator Smith. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member 
Burr. And I am so glad to be here today with both of our 
nominees and to hear about your approach. I think these are 
such important roles and I am really grateful to be here today 
to support your nomination.
    I would like to start with Ms. Nanda. Ms. Nanda, according 
to the Economic Policy Institute, Americans lose three times 
more in wage theft than they do in street robberies, bank 
robberies, gas station robberies, and convenience store 
robberies combined. And the victims of wage theft are 
disproportionately low wage workers, women, and workers of 
color.
    Can you tell us on this Committee what you think about wage 
theft? And if you were concerned, how will you work within the 
Department of Labor to stop this from happening?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you so much for that question, Senator, 
for raising such an important issue. Wage theft undercuts the 
basic promise, I think, of any democratic society that you go 
to work, and you get paid for what you have agreed to do. It is 
a pernicious problem, and it unfortunately falls 
disproportionately on those workers who can afford to lose 
those wages the most, the most vulnerable workers, often women 
of color. So, wage theft is going to continue to be a priority 
for me, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, and focusing 
on making sure that we are getting folks the wages that they 
deserve under existing law for both overtime violations and the 
failure to pay minimum wage.
    Senator Smith. To be clear, wage theft is illegal. This is 
not sort of a discretionary question. This is a question of 
working people who are required to do things that is necessary 
for their job and not getting paid for that part of the work 
that they are doing. Isn't that right?
    Ms. Nanda. Absolutely.
    Senator Smith. I am thinking about the question that 
Senator Kaine asked a little earlier as he was reflecting on 
his father's business and employers that do everything right, 
that make sure that they are looking out for the best interests 
of their businesses and the best interests of their employees.
    Those employers trying to compete against businesses that 
are engaging in wage theft is an unfair, unequal playing field 
for them. And some might say that, oh, well, if you don't like 
what you--if don't like how you are being treated in one job, 
that you could just go work for somebody else. But why is that 
always not such a reasonable option, Ms. Nanda, for working 
people?
    Ms. Nanda. Workers are often facing very vulnerable 
situations. There are issues related to human trafficking, 
there are issues related to immigration status, but also even 
if workers do go to work for another employer, there is still 
this issue of how they collect those back wages. And to the 
point you are making, Senator, about undercutting businesses, 
there are certainly lots of instances where businesses are 
bidding for contracts.
    They are trying to actually get work. And if you have low 
road employers that are not paying the same wages, that are 
undercutting labor standards, they can underbid you. So, this 
is a problem that hurts high road employers. It hurts the basic 
promise of our country. And it is something that will be very 
important to me, should I be confirmed.
    Senator Smith. Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate 
that. I just have about a minute left and I would like to just 
quickly turn to Ms. Abruzzo. I have to say that I come to this 
with a core value that when people have the right to come 
together and collectively organize for better working 
conditions, better benefits, better wages, that they do better, 
their families do better, and we all do better.
    I think that we have really seen this to be a truth in the 
midst of the COVID pandemic, where in the past year, unionized 
workers have been able to secure strong benefits. And then yet 
we have seen workers, low wage workers really, really struggle. 
Ms. Abruzzo, could you just talk a little bit about, as General 
Counsel, how will you use your role to ensure that the NLRB 
fully fulfills its duty to safeguard workers' rights in this 
moment?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you very much, Senator, and I much 
appreciated our discussion, particularly about McAllister, and 
I hope you have an opportunity to read my brother's books. I 
certainly will vigorously enforce the statute and protect the 
rights of workers to act collectively to improve their wages 
and working conditions. You mentioned the Economic Policy 
Institute's studies, and it is--the studies reflect that 
represented workers earn more and have better workplace 
protections.
    The majority of represented workers are women and people of 
color. And so, if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I 
certainly would encourage collective bargaining, industrial 
stability, and promote more labor management, partnerships so 
that workers, and in particular those in vulnerable 
populations, can be assured that the Government is protecting 
their rights.
    Senator Smith. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    The Chair. Thank you.
    Senator Rosen.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chair Murray, Ranking Member 
Burr. Thank you for the witnesses for being here today, your 
willingness to serve. I want to focus a little bit on the 
unemployment system modernization, because like many states, 
Nevada has faced challenges in distributing our unemployment 
benefits during the COVID-19 crisis. Our state's unemployment 
rate remains some of the highest in the country, and the needs 
for benefit, they still remain as our tourism-based economy is 
still in recovery mode.
    Our state is working very hard to get benefits out the 
door, but Nevada and states across the country need IT systems 
that can manage setting up the new Federal programs to process 
the claims, root out fraud like my colleagues have been 
speaking about, and really update this outdated unemployment 
insurance technology that we have. Far too many states have 
just not been able to react to this crisis. So, Ms. Nanda, the 
Solicitor's Office provides legal guidance to other agencies in 
the Department, including guidance to the Department--to the 
Employment Training Administration on unemployment insurance.
    How can you work with ETA to provide clear guidance in 
administering unemployment insurance programs, ensuring that we 
get the timely benefits, protect us from fraud that we may be 
having problems with because we have these aging legacy 
systems. And do you think that you have any role in helping to 
guide these state--all of our states and moving us off his 
legacy systems onto more nimble platforms that we can all 
share?
    Ms. Nanda. Thank you so much, Senator, for raising this 
important issue. Unemployment insurance and the systems have 
been antiquated for a while. And I think what we really saw 
over the past year, a little longer than a year, is so much 
taxation on all of those systems. Really the perfect storm as 
so many Americans who were out of work through no fault of 
their own and needed those timely payments were not able to get 
them.
    At the same time, we saw really sophisticated criminal 
networks taking advantage of those problems and the antiquated 
systems to the tune of billions of dollars. So, if I am 
confirmed, I will work very closely with the career attorneys 
and others who are providing that critical guidance to those 
working on the unemployment insurance program.
    I was very excited to see, in the American Rescue Plan, $2 
billion allocated toward modernizing some of those systems and 
making sure that the UI systems can perform those twin goals of 
getting out timely payments to those who are entitled to them 
and ensuring that there is not fraud on the system.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you. I think IT modernization is key 
across many Departments, and this is especially important. But 
I would like to move on to talk about expanding services in 
diverse communities, because from the census data we saw last 
week, Nevada's the fifth fastest growing state in the country. 
We are proud of our diverse population. It includes vibrant 
tribal communities, Latino communities, AAPI communities, and 
we have all kinds of workers that need the support and 
protection of your agency.
    Ms. Abruzzo, the NLRB recently launched a Spanish language 
outreach initiative. Can you tell us about other efforts that 
you are going to do to reach workers in rural areas, 
underrepresented communities who might not generally be aware 
of the legal protections provided to them? And are you going to 
expand to maybe other language platforms as well?
    Ms. Abruzzo. Thank you so much for that question, Senator. 
And if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I certainly and 
truly believe that we need to promote a very robust outreach 
program, particularly in underserved and rural communities. As 
I mentioned, there is no mandatory requirement for employers to 
post the rights of workers under the National Labor Relations 
Act. So, it is imperative for the agency to educate those 
workers, as well as small businesses, corporations, and worker 
advocates as to the rights and responsibilities.
    I also, as I mentioned earlier, I would certainly foster 
more inter-agency partnerships among colleagues and sister 
agencies. I did that when I was at the NLRB and certainly we 
engaged in joint outreach, which, by the way, the NLRB does not 
have an outreach budget line item. I hope at some point we do. 
But at any rate, we were able to engage in joint outreach with 
sister agencies like the EEOC and Department of Labor that do 
have that. And we reached out to the AAPI community.
    I certainly would want to promote more of that, as well as 
reaching out to all other vulnerable populations and 
underserved communities.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Madam Chair, I see my time has 
expired. I yield back.
    The Chair. Thank you very much. And our vote series have 
started, and this will end our hearing. So, I would like to 
thank my fellow Committee Members for their participation in 
today's hearing and our witnesses, Ms. Abruzzo, Ms. Nanda, for 
joining us to speak about the challenges workers across the 
country are facing. I look forward to working with both of you 
to address these challenges.
    For any Senators who wish to ask additional questions of 
the nominees, questions for the record will be due by Friday, 
April 30th, at 5 p.m. The hearing record will remain open for 
10 days for Members who wish to submit additional material for 
the record. And this meeting is now adjourned.

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

                  Communication Workers of America,
                                                    April 28, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Hon. Richard Burr, Ranking Member,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

    On behalf of the officers and members of the Communications Workers 
of America (CWA), I am writing in strong support of the nomination of 
Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as the next General Counsel of the National 
Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Not only will Abruzzo lead the NLRB in 
reversing the anti-worker policies enacted in the last four years, she 
will move the Board forward in promoting strong labor law.

    Prior to working as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives at 
CWA, Abruzzo had an extensive career at the NLRB. She has held various 
positions, including as Field Attorney and Deputy Regional Attorney in 
the Region 12 office, Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Division 
of Operations-Management, and Deputy General Counsel in the Office of 
the General Counsel in Washington, DC. Her two decades of working with 
the agency gives her vast knowledge of the agency's functions and 
purpose and illustrates her dedication to protecting workers' rights.

    While at CWA, Abruzzo's work has focused on ensuring that workers' 
rights to organize and join a union or otherwise take collective action 
to advance their shared interests are protected. She has proven herself 
to be one of the most thoughtful and effective advocates in the country 
on behalf of workers seeking to exercise their rights.

    It is important that the General Counsel of the NLRB is dedicated 
to the NLRA's mission of upholding and protecting workers' rights to 
form unions and collectively bargain. Under the Trump Administration, 
the NLRB deviated away from this mission and there was a rollback of 
many fundamental worker rights. Abruzzo's extensive career demonstrates 
that she understands how the actions of the NLRB affect the daily lives 
of people at their workplaces. There is no doubt she can lead the 
agency in protecting and strengthening rights of working people.

    I strongly urge you to support and swiftly confirm Jennifer Abruzzo 
as the next General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

    Thank you for your consideration.

            Sincerely,
                                                 Dan Mauer,
                            Director of Government Affairs,
                    Communication Workers of America (CWA).
                                 ______
                                 
                  Communication Workers of America,
                                                    April 29, 2021.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions:

    The undersigned organizations write in strong support of the 
nomination of Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as the next General Counsel of 
the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

    The mission of the National Labor Relations Board is to safeguard 
the rights of workers to organize and engage in collective bargaining, 
and protect workers against unfair labor practices. Consequently, the 
NLRB's General Counsel is responsible for investigating charges that 
employers or unions have violated Federal labor law and for prosecuting 
violations. Jennifer Abruzzo's extensive career at the NLRB positions 
her to serve as the General Counsel to promote and administer the 
agency's mission.

    For over 20 years, Abruzzo worked for the NLRB in various 
capacities, including as Field Attorney and Deputy Regional Attorney in 
the Region 12 office, Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Division 
of Operations-Management, and Deputy General Counsel in the Office of 
the General Counsel in Washington, DC. Abruzzo's career gives her 
unparalleled knowledge of the agency's functions and purpose under the 
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

    Under the Trump administration, the NLRB's General Counsel advanced 
policies that left fewer workers protected by the NLRA and advocated 
for changes in the law that roll back workers' rights. \1\ These 
actions were clear contradictions to the NLRB's mission and will need 
to be addressed to make a more inclusive and equitable economy. 
Abruzzo's extensive experience at the NLRB and firm commitment to its 
mission will help restore the agency to its original purpose to 
``promote and encourage the practice of collective bargaining.'' \2\ As 
General Counsel, Abruzzo will play an integral part in enforcing 
workers' right to organize and collectively bargaining over wages and 
working conditions, and assuring working people are paid fairly, 
treated with dignity, and have a voice on the job.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\  https://www.epi.org/publication/unprecedented-the-trump-nlrbs-
attack-on-workers-rights/.
    \2\  Pub. L. No. 74-198, 49 Stat. 449 (1935) (codified as amended 
at 29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  151-169).

    We are encouraged that the Biden administration has nominated a 
General Counsel that has a strong background, who will protect and 
strengthen the rights of working people under the NLRA. For these 
reasons, we urge you to support the confirmation of Jennifer Abruzzo to 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
be the next General Counsel of the NLRB.

            Signed,
                 The American College of Financial Services
                            American Federation of Teachers
                               Center for American Progress
                             Closing the Women's Wealth Gap
                    Communications Workers of America (CWA)
                                  Economic Policy Institute
                                   Futures Without Violence
                                                Indivisible
                     International Brotherhood of Teamsters
                                       Jobs to Move America
                         National Domestic Workers Alliance
                            National Employment Law Project
                            National Immigration Law Center
                            National Organization for Women
                                National Women's Law Center
                                    People's Parity Project
                      Service Employees International Union
                                   Voices for Utah Children
                                         Workplace Fairness
                                 ______
                                 
    Laborers' International Union of North America,
                                            Washington, DC,
                                                    April 28, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Hon. Richard Burr, Ranking Member,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

    On behalf of the 500,000 members of the Laborers' International 
Union of North America (LIUNA), I write to declare our support of the 
nomination of Jennifer Abruzzo as General Counsel of the National Labor 
Relations Board.

    Ms. Abruzzo spent more than two decades at the NLRB. In that time 
she served as Field Attorney, Supervisory Field Attorney, and Deputy 
Regional Attorney in the Region 12 office in Florida. She also 
supervised operations in the Northeast and Midwest as the Deputy 
Assistant General Counsel for the Division of Operations-Management.

    Ms. Abruzzo would bring valuable experience to the General Counsel 
position at the agency, where she would investigate violations of labor 
law and ensure that the law is properly enforced. Her extensive 
knowledge of the National Labor Relations Act and the NLRB's role in 
guaranteeing the rights of workers also ensures that she is well 
qualified to serve in this role.

    It is vital that the agency has leaders who are highly capable in 
enforcing the law and protecting workers from unfair labor practices 
and exploitation. With this in mind, LIUNA urges the Committee to 
support Jennifer Abruzzo as the next General Counsel for the NLRB.

    With kind regards, I am

            Sincerely yours,
                                          Terry O'Sullivan,
                                         General President.
                                Marshall B. Babson,
                                                    April 15, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Chair Murray:

    My name is Marshall B. Babson. I am a former Member of the National 
Labor Relations Board (``NLRB''), appointed by President Reagan in 1985 
and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. I presently serve as Counsel at 
Seyfarth Shaw LLP although I write today in my individual capacity only 
and not on behalf of any firm or organization. With the exception of my 
service on the NLRB from 1985 to 1988, my law practice has been devoted 
principally to representing employers and companies in cases pending 
before the NLRB. I am writing in support of the nomination of Jennifer 
Abruzzo to be General Counsel of the NLRB. I have known Ms. Abruzzo for 
more than 20 years during her service as a career employee at the NLRB 
and culminating in her service as Deputy General Counsel and then 
briefly as Acting General Counsel. Ms. Abruzzo is a highly intelligent, 
highly motivated lawyer with many years of experience administering and 
advancing the policies and purposes of the NLRA. Given her years of 
service, I cannot think of an issue or a matter under the NLRA with 
which she is not familiar. Ms. Abruzzo, however, not only is steeped in 
exceptional experience in administering the NLRA, she has evinced 
through her many years of service an unwavering commitment to fairness, 
evenhandedness and efficiency in all of her work.

    Simply put, in my experience, Ms. Abruzzo ``calls them as she sees 
them'' and as the statute requires without advantage or favor to any 
party or organization. There is no doubt in my mind that, if confirmed, 
she will fulfil her role in furtherance of the policies and purposes of 
the NLRA.

    It is my view that Jennifer Abruzzo is exceptionally well qualified 
for the position of General Counsel of the NLRB, and I encourage the 
Committee to act favorably upon her nomination.

            Very truly yours,
                                        Marshall B. Babson.
                                 ______
                                 
      The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human 
                                            Rights,
                                            Washington, DC,
                                                    April 28, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Hon. Richard Burr, Ranking Member,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

    The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, together with 
53 organizations committed to ensuring the protection and advancement 
of the rights, economic security, and well-being of all working people 
in this country, writes in support of the nomination of Seema Nanda to 
serve as U.S. Solicitor of Labor.

    Seema Nanda is highly qualified for the position to which she has 
been nominated. Nanda has dedicated the bulk of her career in public 
service to advancing opportunities for working people and ensuring the 
promotion and protection of Federal anti-discrimination laws. As former 
chief of staff to Labor Secretary Tom Perez, former deputy solicitor, 
and former deputy chief of staff at the Labor Department, Nanda has 
deep familiarity with the department, and possesses significant 
expertise in civil rights, labor, and employment law. She is also a 
champion for workers' rights and is experienced in leading complex, 
diverse organizations. The Leadership Conference was fortunate to have 
Nanda serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer, as 
she helped to usher in a new chapter for our coalition.

    Now, at this critical moment in history, Nanda is the right person 
to serve as solicitor of labor. More than one year after the onset of 
the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, working people across 
the Nation continue to feel the economic impact of this ongoing global 
health crisis. Though thousands of jobs were added to the economy in 
March, the labor market is still down 8.4 million jobs from its pre-
pandemic level. Structural racism and longstanding inequities have made 
the crisis worse for people of color, women, immigrants, and people 
with disabilities. Black, Latino, and Asian workers, for example, 
continue to experience more job loss than White workers, and Black 
women and Latinas have experienced historically high unemployment 
rates. \1\ People with disabilities, as a group, have also suffered 
disproportionate job loss; between March and August of last year, one 
in five workers with disabilities lost their jobs. \2\ Lack of paid 
leave, childcare, and other support during the pandemic have pushed 
many women out of the labor market entirely, threatening the immediate 
and long-term economic security of children and families. Two-thirds of 
mothers were either primary or co-breadwinners for their families 
before the pandemic, with more than 40 percent serving as sole or 
primary breadwinners. Low-income women and women of color are 
especially likely to be key breadwinners for their families. \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\  Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute, March Jobs Report 
(Apr. 2, 2021), https://www.epi.org/indicators/unemployment/.
    \2\  Allen Smith, A Million People with Disabilities Have Lost Jobs 
During the Pandemic (Aug. 29, 2020), https://www.shrm.org/
resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/
coronavirus-unemployment-people-with-disabilities.aspx;.
    \3\  Sarah Jane Glynn, Center for American Progress, Breadwinning 
Mothers Are Critical to Families' Economic Security (Mar. 29, 2021), 
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2021/03/29/497658/
breadwinning-mothers-critical-familys-economic-security/.

    People across this country deserve a Department of Labor that will 
promote an equitable shared recovery and use all the tools available to 
ensure that the communities hit hardest by the pandemic have meaningful 
access to opportunities, that all workplaces are safe, and that all 
working people can earn a living free from harassment and unlawful 
discrimination. The solicitor of labor, together with the secretary and 
deputy secretary, must ensure that the department meets the moment, and 
Nanda is an exceptional choice. Throughout her career, Nanda has 
demonstrated a deep and nuanced understanding of both the Department of 
Labor and of the challenges facing our workforce, particularly those 
workers who because of their race, gender, disability, or other 
characteristics have long struggled to find secure, quality, and family 
sustaining jobs, and are finding it even more difficult to do so in 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
these current times.

    Importantly, the solicitor of labor is more than just the 
department's lawyer; the solicitor of labor is the top lawyer for 
millions of working people in the United States. Many of the statutes 
under the department's jurisdiction place exclusive enforcement 
authority in the hands of the department and do not provide a means for 
individual workers to pursue enforcement of their rights. Working 
people are therefore dependent on the department, and on the solicitor 
of labor, to vindicate crucial protections such as those provided under 
Executive Order 11246 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and 
other important laws. The solicitor also plays a key role in the 
development of regulations and standards that help ensure compliance 
with labor and employment laws, as well as legislative proposals to 
strengthen workplace protections. Workers need someone who understands 
the challenges they face so that laws, regulations, standards, and all 
other policy proposals are crafted with a keen eye toward addressing 
their needs.

    Seema Nanda is well-suited to perform this role:

          Nanda has significant experience collaborating across 
        agencies. While at the Department of Labor, for example, Nanda 
        led a successful effort to update and expand a memorandum of 
        understanding among the Department of Labor, the Department of 
        Homeland Security, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 
        and the National Labor Relations Board to ensure robust 
        enforcement of labor and employment laws, including protections 
        against workplace discrimination, retaliation, and 
        intimidation, consistent with Federal immigration laws.

          Nanda has a proven record of promoting employment 
        opportunities. While at the Department of Labor, Nanda oversaw 
        the expansion of the Registered Apprenticeship program. Through 
        stakeholder engagement, the creation of new grant programs, and 
        a public campaign, Nanda's efforts resulted in a 20 percent 
        increase in the number of apprentices within two years.

          Outside of the Department of Labor, Nanda led the 
        Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the 
        Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, which is 
        responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act. In addition to providing 
        leadership to section attorneys, Nanda also led the development 
        of immigration reform proposals and developed public education 
        and training programs.

          As a fellow with the Harvard Law School, Labor and 
        Worklife Program, and as an independent consultant, Nanda has 
        continued to research labor law issues and has provided 
        expertise on workers' rights and workplace policy proposals 
        aimed at ensuring an equitable economic recovery.

    The solicitor of labor plays a key role in ensuring that the 
Department of Labor can fulfill its mission to promote the welfare of 
working people, improve working conditions, advance opportunities, and 
protect and enforce workplace rights. Seema Nanda has demonstrated a 
deep commitment to this mission, and her background and experience make 
her exceptionally qualified to serve as solicitor of labor. For these 
reasons, we urge you to support the confirmation of Seema Nanda to be 
U.S. Solicitor of Labor.

    If you have any questions, please contact Gaylynn Burroughs, senior 
policy counsel at The Leadership Conference.

            Sincerely,
        The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
                               A. Philip Randolph Institute
                                                    AFL-CIO
                       African American Ministers In Action
                           American Association for Justice
                      Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
                    Asian Americans Advancing Justice--AAJC
                       Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
                       Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
                  California Employment Lawyers Association
                               Center for American Progress
                   Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
                       Center for Parental Leave Leadership
                  Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc.
                               Chicago Foundation for Women
                            Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
                             Coalition of Labor Union Women
                                   Coalition on Human Needs
                    Communications Workers of America (CWA)
                                  Economic Policy Institute
                                     Equal Rights Advocates
                                         Farmworker Justice
                               Feminist Majority Foundation
                                   Futures Without Violence
                     Indiana Institute for Working Families
                                       LatinoJustice PRLDEF
                                 Matthew Shepard Foundation
   National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
              National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
                           National Black Justice Coalition
        National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
                         National Domestic Workers Alliance
                             National Education Association
                            National Employment Law Project
                            National Immigration Law Center
                      National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
                            National Organization for Women
                                National Women's Law Center
                              National Workrights Institute
                                  New Jersey Citizen Action
                                People For the American Way
                                    People's Parity Project
                                             PFLAG National
                             Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
                                      Public Justice Center
                              Secular Coalition for America
                      Service Employees International Union
                                             She the People
                               Southwest Women's Law Center
                                              Supermajority
                            The New York Women's Foundation
                                                UltraViolet
                                      United State of Women
       Women And Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania
                                 ______
                                 
                   National Employment Law Project,
                                              New York, NY,
                                                    April 27, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Hon. Richard Burr, Ranking Member,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

    On behalf of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a non-
profit law and policy organization with over 50 years of experience 
advocating for the employment and labor rights of our Nation's workers, 
I write to register our enthusiastic support of the confirmation of 
Seema Nanda as the next Solicitor of Labor of the Labor Department.

    As the Nation continues to confront multiple hurdles that impact 
the well-being and livelihood of our country's workers, the Labor 
Department needs leadership that will prioritize inclusiveness, equity, 
and fostering worker power so that they have a meaningful say in the 
terms and conditions of their employment. Seema Nanda's extensive 
experience at DOL and in the Federal Government, coupled with her deep 
expertise in labor and employment law, makes her an exceptional 
Solicitor of Labor candidate.

    Nanda's career as a legal advocate and champion for working people 
includes serving as a supervisory attorney at the National Labor 
Relations Board where she provided legal expertise in unfair labor 
practice cases that spanned various worker civil liberties such as the 
protection of concerted activity and the rights of undocumented workers 
to receive back pay. Her time as special counsel at the Department of 
Justice Civil Rights Division Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights 
was spent leading a myriad of agency actions such as expanding the 
office's enforcement efforts, developing public education programs, and 
working with the White House to reform our immigration system.

    Perhaps most relevant, however is Nanda's prior experience in the 
Department of Labor, which uniquely positions her to hit the ground 
running on day one as Labor Solicitor. During her time at DOL, she 
served as Deputy Solicitor of Labor, Senior Counselor, Deputy Chief of 
Staff, and Chief of Staff to the Secretary. In these capacities, she 
led cross-agency partnerships between the Department of Justice, the 
Department of Homeland Security, the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board to develop a new 
memorandum of understanding on immigration-related labor law 
enforcement. She also worked to center inclusiveness within the agency 
by developing an equity-focused strategic plan for agency employees.

    Ms. Nanda's long career in public service is estimable. At every 
turn, she has worked to expand opportunity for working people, with a 
particular eye toward the needs of Black, Indigenous, and other workers 
of color including immigrants, with leadership that has lifted up their 
voices and addressed their priorities. An economic recovery that is 
equitable must center these workers and recognize that their demands 
will lead to safe and just workplaces. NELP urges the Committee to 
confirm Seema Nanda immediately so that we can begin to move toward can 
inclusive recovery in collaboration and solidarity with working people.

            Sincerely,
                                             Rebecca Dixon,
                                        Executive Director.
                                 ______
                                 
    [Whereupon, at 11:40 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
    

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